...it's the most wonderful time of the year

Here it is again; the most wonderful time of the year. 

I just love Christmas! That may have already been established...but I'm going shout it once more from the Christmas treetops until I rattle loose the snow!

We're a week into December, and I'm well underway with festivities and ticking off my annual traditions (of which we have many!)

We hang lights on November 30th, so they can be ready and waiting to ignite on December 1st.

We decorate the mantle with pinecones and candles and holly.

We get out our Christmas pudding teapot, our snowman cookie jar, and our jumble of Christmas mugs in all shapes and sizes.

We drink hot chocolates with marshmallows balanced atop a mountain of cream. No mini marshmallows are involved. Only hard core, full sized marshmallows need apply.

We watch Home Alone on December 1st, then systematically work our way through the classics, finishing with It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve! It's my favourite, and gosh darn it everyone, isn't it just a wonderful life? Even with everything that's gone wrong this year!

But my favourite thing to do at Christmas, is to bundle up, pile into the car and drive the muddy lanes that lead towards Kingswood Christmas Trees!. My family has been visiting this place since I was ten. My brother had his first job there hauling trees, and my sister worked as an elf in the Grotto when she was a teenager.

It's the ultimate tradition!

Inevitably, whichever day we go, it will rain, or sleet, and we'll stand in the cold squabbling over which tree is taller or bushier and trying to remember how high our ceiling is, because I don't know about you, but I never know.

After much debate, we'll pick the perfect tree, secure it to the car roof, and head back inside to the Christmas Shop for a mooch. At which point, a new debate will commence involving the tree topper. Did we buy one last year to replace our poor old angel? (We didn't). Should we buy one this year? (Probably, but we won't).

We'll get the tree home, add lights and baubles and perch the poor old precarious angel in prime position, overlooking the room, knowing it's only a matter of time before she takes her annual inevitable suicidal dive from her 7ft high perch. And yet, by some angelic miracle, she remains intact. Hallelujah!

Regardless of all this palaver, the result is always beautiful, and for the month of December, the tree is the heart of our home, and our hearts gather around it. It stands proud and ornamental in out front window, overseeing the festivities and sharing our joy as we cosy up each night, eating, drinking and being merry.

I think it's so special to observe and make your own traditions. They help to create memories that ultimately will last longer than any gift you could receive.

We're all guilty at times of rushing through the festive season in a blur of frantic spending, but we know this isn't what Christmas is all about. 

This year, in particular, I'm determined to cherish every moment of Christmas. To embrace the true meaning. To make the most of my time with the people I'm allowed to see, and to take the time to acknowledge those that I can't be with. Send cards, resurrect letter writing, compose emails, pick up the phone and call them to let them know you care.

There's an excellent quote from Dr Seuss' The Grinch Who Stole Christmas that say this so much better that I ever could: "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

Merry Christmas everyone! Stay safe, stay home, and make some memories!

Zuzu 🖊

Find me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @zuzuspages